Established by renowned fashion designer Donna Karan, the Urban Zen Foundation “creates, connects, and collaborates to raise awareness and inspire change in the areas of well-being, preserving cultures, and empowering children,” according to the Foundation website. “We design forums, partner with existing organizations, and bring together experts to define solutions and implement action.”

Urban Zen explained why Dr. Roth was selected for this honor:

“As spring begins to burst through the wintery seams and green buds reveal themselves once again from beneath the damp earth, Urban Zen has been inspired to focus on planting our own seeds of wellness and acknowledging those that have been cultivated by others.”

“We are thrilled to name Bob Roth as the Urban Zen Community Ambassador for his innovative work at the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace, where he serves as Vice President.

“Bob has taught meditation on all continents of the world, sharing the basic skills to enable people to achieve wellness by managing stress, thereby preventing an array of consequent mental and physical ailments.

“We are moved by Bob’s true passion for teaching the skills he has honed throughout his lifetime. We are enormously grateful to him for personally touching the lives of all of us here at Urban Zen, for whom he has gone out of his way to provide personal experiences with Transcendental Meditation. We are thrilled to work with him and the David Lynch Foundation in the near future.”

The Urban Zen Foundation has also honored in December 2010 award-winning filmmaker David Lynch for his foundation’s work, “using Transcendental Meditation to transform the lives of various at-risk populations including students in urban schools, children in developing countries, children with ADHD, American Indians with diabetes, veterans with PTSD, homeless individuals, and prison inmates.”

Ms. Karan co-hosted the David Lynch Foundation’s second annual “Change Begins Within” benefit event, which was held in December 2010 in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to raise support for the Foundation’s programs.